Charity will not extend to pitch - Morley (From Warrington Guardian)

Warrington Wolves prop Adrian Morley looks ahead to Super League clash with Bradford Bulls

10:20am Thursday 26th July 2012 in Wolves news

ADRIAN Morley has commended Warrington Wolves’ donation of away ticket sales to Bradford Bulls’ Supporter Trust Fund, but has made it clear that their charity will not continue on the pitch.

Bradford Bulls’ long-standing financial problems have meant that Wolves, who are following in the footsteps of Leeds last week, will donate away ticket sales to Bulls’ Supporters Trust Fund as they battle to keep the Yorkshire giants from going under.

But while Morley praised rugby league’s ‘family spirit’ for helping their stricken Super League rivals, he promised that the kindness would stop there as his side look to keep the pressure on Super League leaders Wigan Warriors with an eighth straight win against Bradford.

“The donation of the away ticket sales is good to see and is an example of the rugby league family coming together,” he said.

“We need a vibrant Bradford Bulls in Super League, they make the competition stronger, so let’s hope they can find a buyer and sort out their problems.

“But the charity stays off the pitch.

“It is alright giving them money, but we don’t want to be too generous and we will be looking to bounce back from a poor second half against Castleford last week.”

Bulls will likely be a wounded animal on Sunday following the deduction of six Super League points by the RFL as punishment for the club slipping into administration on June 26.

A strong season, despite the financial problems behind the scenes, had put Mick Potter’s Bulls well in contention for a play-off spot with six matches remaining, but the deduction means they slip out of the top eight to the gain of Hull KR.

It might be expected that such problems off the pitch would lead to weakened performances on it, but the opposite has been true of Bradford, who included an impressive 30-22 away defeat of Wigan in their recent record of four wins in their last six games.

Morley is wary that the deduction may actually lead to a more determined Bulls side arriving at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday, kick off 3pm.

“Bulls have impressed me greatly in the way they have maintained their form on the pitch regardless of what is going on behind the scenes,” said the 35-year-old prop and club captain.

“There are a lot of issues at the club, but the players have to be commended for leaving those problems behind and pulling out some fantastic performances.

“They beat Wigan not too long ago and they will be up for this match.”

But so too will Warrington, particularly following the scare suffered in the 40-26 defeat of Castleford Tigers on Sunday and with one of the most important weeks of the regular Super League season to come when they meet St Helens and Wigan in the space of five days at the start of August.

“There were a lot of disappointing plays in that second half against Castleford and we need to improve on that,” said Morley.

“We have got a tough period of games coming up and that is a problem we don’t want to repeat in those games.

“That being said though, I cannot remember a year where we have been in such a strong position at this stage in the season and that bodes very well for us.”